31 January 2012

Bad Apple; T.R. Burns

Poor Seamus: one incredible, coincidental, horrible throw of an apple and his entire life is changed. That apple? It hit a substitute teacher, in the head, and killed her. And that one action got him sent to Kilter Academy for Troubled Youth, where his roommate, Lemon, has gone through twelve roommates in three weeks thanks to his habit of playing with fire. Seamus is homesick, ashamed of what he did, and hopes only to make it through the first semester so he can go home. But the Kilter Academy is nothing like what he (or his parents) imagine and his natural instincts for trouble and kindness mean he's one of the most successful students at KA.

There are some great Lubar-eqsue moments and if every reader doesn't want a K-Pak, well, they're not reading clearly. This is a great book for middle grade readers... and the ending will leave them wanting to read the next book asap.